{"id":353594,"date":"2025-12-17T09:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T09:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/353594\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T09:32:12","slug":"panathinaikos-edges-fenerbahce-81-77-in-tense-euroleague-showdown-in-istanbul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/353594\/","title":{"rendered":"Panathinaikos edges Fenerbahce 81-77 in tense EuroLeague showdown in Istanbul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wade Baldwin (R) of Fenerbahce Beko in action against Kendrick Nunn (L) Panathinaikos during the EuroLeague week 16 match at Ulker Sports and Event Hall in Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye, December 16, 2025. (AA Photo)<\/p>\n

\nDecember 17, 2025 09:06 AM GMT+03:00\n<\/p>\n

Greek basketball club Panathinaikos AKTOR defeated T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Fenerbahce Beko 81-77 in a tightly contested EuroLeague Week 16 match held Tuesday in Istanbul, halting the home side\u2019s six-game winning streak in the tournament.<\/p>\n

The win marked Panathinaikos\u2019 10th victory of the season, while Fenerbahce, which had enjoyed a strong run since late November, recorded its sixth loss overall.<\/a><\/p>\n

More to Read<\/p>\n

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Late-game turnaround seals victory for Panathinaikos<\/p>\n

Both teams struggled to score early,<\/a> with Panathinaikos holding a narrow 17-16 lead after the first quarter. They extended the margin in the second, but Fenerbahce responded with stronger defense to stay within reach at halftime, trailing 41-37.<\/p>\n

Fenerbahce took control after the break, starting the third quarter with an 11-0 run and entering the final period ahead 57-50. Panathinaikos, however, turned the momentum in the fourth, regaining the lead through key plays by Willy Hernangomez.<\/p>\n

Fenerbahce closed the gap to one point in the final seconds, but Panathinaikos stayed composed. Kendrick Nunn\u2019s late free throws secured the 81-77 victory for the visitors.<\/p>\n

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\nHead Coach of Panathinaikos Ergin Ataman reacts during the EuroLeague week 16 match between at Ulker Sports and Event Hall in Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye, December 16, 2025. (AA Photo)\n<\/p>\n

Jasikevicius reflects on missed rhythm, Ataman applauds team effort<\/p>\n

Speaking after the game, Fenerbahce head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius said his team failed to maintain consistency throughout the match.<\/p>\n

“We couldn\u2019t play our best basketball, but our fighting spirit was always there. At this level, putting together a winning streak is difficult,” he said, praising his team\u2019s efforts during recent fixtures despite the loss.<\/p>\n

Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman, who is also in charge of the Turkish national team,<\/a> described the victory as a result of strong first-half defense and late-game resilience.<\/p>\n

“We played excellently in the first half. Although we committed many turnovers on offense, we managed to control the game. Fenerbahce found their rhythm early in the second half, but the momentum shifted again later and we secured the victory,” Ataman told reporters.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 17, 2025 09:06 AM GMT+03:00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wade Baldwin (R) of Fenerbahce Beko in action against Kendrick Nunn (L) Panathinaikos during the EuroLeague week 16…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-353594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}